Guillermo del Toro Talks JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK, Reveals another Character on the Team, the Status of the Screenplay, and More

The strangeness of Warner Bros. trying to put together their superhero proprieties is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Justice League Dark might hit the big screen before Justice League. Granted, it might not be called “Justice League Dark” when it’s finally released (It’s also been referred to as “Heaven Sent” and “Dark Universe“), but it will be a band of DC Comics anti-heroes rather than the mainstream superheroes. Guillermo del Toro is overseeing the development of the project as a possible directing vehicle, and recently spoke with Steve about it at WonderCon.

Hit the jump for what del Toro had to say about Justice League Dark, his reveal of another character on the team, his personal attachment to the material, the status of screenplay, and more.

We already knew that John Constantine (aka Hellblazer) would be leading the team of anti-heroes and that monsters Swamp Thing and Etrigan the Demon would be along for the ride as well as the attractive magician Zatanna. During out interview, del Toro revealed another character who has made the cut:

The route we’re going is Constantine is our lead. Constantine is the guy who leads us in and out of the plot. We have Swamp Thing, Etrigan, we have Zatanna, we have—I will spoil it—the Floronic Man. We have stuff that those who love the darker side of the DC Universe are going to appreciate, and we’re trying to be true to the origins of the characters.

When you reach “The Floronic Man”, you’re getting pretty obscure, but that’s one of the things I’m digging about this project. I’m a little surprised that del Toro didn’t mention Deadman considering that the filmmaker was once attached to produce a film featuring the DC character, who is currently a member of Justice League Dark in the comics. [Correction: del Toro did mention Deadman during the WonderCon panel] However, there are other characters in the del Toro’s Justice League Dark movie that are near and dear to his heart:

I’m literally playing with two of my oldest and most favorite characters in my life—Swamp Thing and Etrigan. These were the guys I was drawing with crayons when I was a kid. I cannot tell you how happy I am, but I am finishing my bible, and then I deliver that bible, which is about 45 pages, to Warners, and we have a screenwriter that we like and that we talk to, but he is writing his own movie right now and is thinking about it. But I am going to try to wait for him.

And who is this mystery screenwriter?

I won’t say who it is. I’m not allowed. But we’re waiting, and when the right time comes, hopefully that writer will take over, and then we’ll see if it’s directed by me or someone else and I’ll just produce. I don’t know.

Here’s the video of del Toro talking about the movie. Look for more with del Toro tomorrow.